Salt Lake evening Democrat. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1885-1887, 1887-07-14
GIVE NEVER EXPECT"

SM II NEN Eli EAI EOls
The Herald of this morning voices the
sentiment of Mormon Utah when 1t says !;
owe never expect to see the time when
there will be no polygamy or bigamy in
this Territory, any more than we expect
there will come a time when there will
he neither offenses nor offenders as to
other matters.
The Herald is surely in position to
know and this one statement coming
from an authoritative source should be
enough to condemn the Statehood move
without another question. The
DEMOCRAT has always had
a certain amount of respect, or at least
pity. for those Mormons who practiced
polygamy "as part Of their religion, F"
and we have always been ready TO admit
that great many of the offenders against
the Edmunds law belonged to this class.
For this reason we have never put Nor
mon convicts on the same level as horse
thieves and other criminals, although
we have always favored the vigorous en-
enforcement Of the law against bigamy
and polygamy. But now the Herald
comes out with the assertion that they
do not expect to see the Territory free
from these crimes any more than to see
it free from every other offense. The les
ser organ of the Church places the twin
relic on a par with horse stealing, and
places the promise of the State
hood Convention on the same
plane with the pledge of a horsethiei
who hopes to escape the moose
OF vigilance committee by promising to
do better in the future. Would band
OF horsetheives think OF asking executive
clemency on such statement IS this
Would single prisoner ever gain his
liberty by promising to obey the law in
the future and then supplement-
ing it with the remark that he didn't ex-
pect TO free himself entirely of bis
crimes? The comparison is not over
drawn, because Mormon Utah has here
toiore been criminal. The people have
acted in such unity, that the acts of the
Church we're the acts of the Individual
The parallel, therefore, is perfect
Now, what do the Mormons ask? Do
they expect to go to Congress with the
promise OF the bad boy who tells his en-.
ragged father that he will "try to do bet
ter in the future"? And, do they ex-
pect Congress TO say, That's all l can
ask, my son. No one can do better than
to try? 1t looks as though this is what
they intend to do. but if they expect the
parent government to give way to the
sentimentality that a father sometimes
feels for a son, they will get gracefully
left
The Herald further says that to give
up polygamy without the government Of
the State in their hands would be as i'm
possible as to cleanse the Terri.
this statement the Herald simply
lies, and, what is more, it lies
in brazen way that must be disgusting
even to its followers. The Herald knows
and we all know that the
same command that brought dele.
gates from all parts CT the Territory
to attend the Statehood Convention,
could have put stop to polygamy more
effectually than all the Mormon laws
that could ever be constructed. If laws
are necessary to stop polygamy and the
Mormons are sincere in their wish
to stop it, why don't their
Legislature make such laws? The very
same men who fixed up that proposed
constitution have met in the legislative
halls Of Utah year after year and never
yet has single anti-polygamy measure
been proposed, much less enacted. To
pretend that principle has anything to
do with the proposed prohibition of poly
gamy is childish. 1t is political gain
that has prompted and will prompt every
step taken by the outfit.
We never expect to see the Territory
free from polygamy or bigamy," was well
said, and the same sheet might have
gone on indefinitely with equal frank
ness totell us everything else they "never
expect to see," and on most of them we
can all join in and keep our an
ticipation at quite as low q
pitch as that of the Herald.
For instance: We never expect to see
Utah a State under Mormon rule; we
never expect to see the Mormon Terri
torial Legislature try to stop polygamy
We never expect TO see a polygamist ar
rested by Mormon officer; we never ex-
pect to see a polygamist indicted by a
Mormon Grand Jury, prosecuted by a
Mormon attorney, convicted by a Nor
mon jury, or sentenced by a Mormon
judge; we never expect to see the Nor
mon Church loyal to the United States
Government, and we never expect to see
Congress gulled into believing that it ever
will be.
Polygamy is crime against society,
horse stealing crime against the man
who loses the horse; and, while the indi-
vidual may have a hard time in ridding
the country of the latter, it is not pro-
posed that the masses shall remain eqally
helpless in regard to the former.